Neo-Babylon/
Chaldean
Mesopotamia Map
General Information
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City-State in Ancient Mesopotamia
Between the Euphrates and Tigris
Present day Iraq
626 BCE to 539 BCE
General Information
Cont.
• Neo-Babylonian Era was called
Chaldean
• Followed Assyrian Empire
• Persian Empire followed it
• “Holy City”
• From Babilu – “gateway of the gods”
Babylon’s Rulers
Ruler
Nabopolassar
Nebuchadnezzar II
Amel- Marduk
Nergal-sharezer
Labashi-Marduk
Nabonidus
Reigned
626 - 605 BCE
605 - 562 BCE
562 - 560 BCE
560 – 566 BCE
566 BCE
556- 539 BCE
Nabopolassar
• Overthrew Assyrian
Empire
• First King of Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II
• Etemenaki Ziggurat
• Ishtar Gate
• Hanging Gardens
• Wife Amyitis
Advancements
• Many old temples were rebuilt- 50
• Babylon was restored
• New buildings created• Ishtar Gate
• Hanging Gardens
Advancements
• Turned into one
of the world’s
greatest cities
• One of the
“Seven Wonders
of the Ancient
World” created
Advancements
• Double walls
• Moats
• Great Ziggurat
Social Institutions
• Family• Patriarchal society
• Men were more
powerful than
women
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• Education• Established formal
schools
• Mainly taught
reading and writing
Social Institutions Cont.
• Economic systems• Were the first to
have an economic
system
• Government• Had 6 kings
• Had complete
control
Social Institutions Cont.
• Religion• Believed in many
gods
• Polytheists
• Many references
were made in the
bible
Human Environmental
Interactions
• Modify• They built plows to
soften the land on
which they grew
plants
• Depend• Most food was
grown in the Fertile
Crescent
Human Environmental
Interactions Cont.
• Adapt• Some land was
dry, caused the
creation of
irrigation
Impact of Ideas
• Influenced Homer and
Hesiod- famous Greek
poets
• Geometry
• Astronomy
• Heraldry
• Babylonian Talmud
Cooperation and
Conflict
• Invasions by the
Aramaeans
• Settled down
• Aramaic language
replaced
Babylonian
Babylon’s Exile
• King
NebuchadnezzarTemple of the Lord
• King Jehoiachin
exiled Babylon
• Evilmerodach put
in prison
The Fall of Babylon
• Belshazzar’s drunken feast
• Conquered by Cyrus (a general of Darius )
• 100 years earlier Gods had stated their
downfall
Cultural Development
• Astronomy & astrology
• Created zodiac
• “the entire universe was created in
relation to the Earth”
Cultural Developments
Cont.
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Sexagesimal number system. (60)
60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an
hour
Pythagorean theorem
Economics & History
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Agriculture
Foreign trade, exported items
Imported items they didn’t have
Sumerians had influence on Babylon’s
irrigation & agriculture
Economics and History
Cont.
• Palaces and temples - economic
institutions.
• Things paid in silver
• Goods varied in price based on the need
and supply
Law and Justice
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Shamash
Witness Oaths
Punishments
“lex talionis”
Mesopotamia
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Greek for land between the rivers
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Northern= rich, fertile plains
Southern Mesopotamia= marshy and
barren plains.
Old-Babylon
 first dynasty of the Babylonians
 first code of laws came into play
 king set up a burracuecy, taxation,
and centralized government
Neo-Babylon
 The last strong Assyrian ruler died
 Babylonians rebelled by 612 B.C. they
regained control of the empire
Religion
 a form of polytheism
 Believed each god had specific role
 Each city in the Babylonian empire
worship a certain god
 They were worship at the cities
ziggurat
Nabopolassar
 King of Babylon From 626- 604 BCE
 With the help of the king of Medes he
conquered Assyria
 Father of King Nebuchadnezzar II
Nebuchadnezzar
 Son of Nabopolassar
 Stormed leftover Assyrian forces in Egypt
 Captured the Israelites and held them
in Babylon
 Built the Hanging Gardens, Gates and
tower of Babylon
Capture of the Jews
 Jehoikim threatened Babylon
 Nebuchadnezzar attacks Judah
 Deports all Jews to Babylon
The Creation of Judaism
 Had a lot of extra time while in
Babylon
 Jewish Rabbis could write down and
bless their writings
 These essays became parts of the
Torah and the Bible’s Old Testament
Babylonian
Achievements
 The Tower of Babel.
 Man made it for himself not God.
 God saw and gave many different
languages to stop them.
 They stopped building it.
Babylonian
Achievements cont.
 The wall of Babylon.
 Two walls 25 ft. thick and 150 ft. tall.
 250 towers 450 ft. tall.
Changing Ideas
 The Babylonian citizens were liberal
and accepted the Jewish religion.
 Many even believed in the Jews
religion.
Impact of Ideas
 Babylonians had their own gods but
also accepted the Jewish god.
 Many learned to read and write so
they quickly learned religion
Development of Culture
Polytheists
Cuneiform
Used ideas from Hammurabi’s code
Monarchy
Kings, nobles, free citizens, then slaves for social
Hierarchy
 Developed Intricate calendar
 Geometry and Algebra
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Interactions with other
Civilizations
 Nabopolassar conquered what was
left of the Assyrians
 Nebuchadnezzar captured the Jews
 They partially accepted the Jews
culture
Fall of Babylon
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In 539 BC Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered
Babylon
 In 331 BC, Alexander the Great conquered
Mesopotamia and brought forth Greek rule there
 They built new cities and Babylon among other
old cities became insignificant
Impact of Babylon
today
 Today Babylon is a place for tourism
 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are
one of the ancient 7 wonders of the
world
The Neo-Babylonian Empire
 626-539 BCE
 Started with the revolt of
Nabopolassar
 Attacked the Assyrians
 First king of this Empire
 Fell to Cyrus the Great
 Ruler of Persia
Location!
 Then:
 City-state of ancient
Mesopotamia
 Now:
 Present-day Al Hillah,
Babil Province, Iraq
 “The Middle East”
Location!
 Lies between Tigris and Euphrates in the Fertile Crescent
Continuity and Change
 Gained Independence from Assyrian
rule
 Rebelled under Nabopolassar when
Ashurbanipal died
 This was the start to the NeoBabylonian Empire
 Brought change for Babylonians
Ashurbanipal
Cultural Development
 Writing and Literature
 Oldest written texts were in simple pictograms
 Legal, administrative, and epistolary (letters)
Cultural Development
 Astronomy
 Precise astronomical
observations
 Created 12-month
calendar
 Kept records of eclipses
A list of eclipses between 518 and 465 BCE
Individuals in History
 Nabopolassar
 Led Babylonia in revolt against Assyrians
 Began the Neo-Babylon Era
 Nebuchadnezzar II
 Ruler of Babylon
 Constructed Hanging Gardens
 Conquered Judah and Jerusalem
Individuals in History
 Nabonidus
 Last king of Babylon
 Created religious differences in Babylon
 Persians conquered Babylon
Economics and History
 High taxes/tributes for
buildings and armies
 Hanging Gardens
 Documented
 Original “Seven Wonders of
the World”
Technology and History
 Canal System
 Made land more fertile
 Increased trade
 Kept clay tablets to
record astronomical
observations
Impact of Ideas
 Mathematics
 60 second minute and 60 minute hour
 360 degree circle
 Medicine
 Written text of medical symptoms
 Advances in medicine
Social Institutions
 Religion
 Cities- have one god that is their overseer or main god
 Polytheism
 Worship in Ziggurat
 Government
 Social classes
 Upper (priests and traders)
 Middle (farmers and clerks)
 Low (slaves)
Human-Environmental Interaction
 Tigris and Euphrates provided many natural resources
 Fertile soil for crops
 Mud brick houses
 Built a huge wall around the city
Cooperation and Conflict
 Attacked Judah (states along
the Levant)
 Invaded and captured Jerusalem
 Destroyed city and temple
 13 year long conflict with Tyre
 Under rule of Nebuchadnezzar II
 Declined after this ruler